Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted a former interior minister of Gambia, Ousman Sonko, for crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Sonko served as Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 to 2016 under then-President Yahya Jammeh.
The court ruled that Sonko’s crimes, which included homicide, torture, and false imprisonment, amounted to crimes against humanity.
The trial, which began in January, was a significant application of the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” allowing for the prosecution of serious crimes committed abroad.
Sonko, who applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016 and was arrested two months later, was accused of supporting, participating in, and failing to stop attacks against opponents in Gambia.
The crimes included killings, torture, rape, and numerous unlawful detentions.
Sonko was however convicted of homicide, torture, and false imprisonment as crimes against humanity, while rape charges against him were dropped.
The verdict is seen as a significant milestone in the fight against impunity and a historic success for universal jurisdiction in Switzerland and Europe, according to Amnesty Switzerland.
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Olimatou Sonko, the defendant’s daughter, expressed her dismay outside the courtroom, telling Swiss public broadcaster SRF that it was unfair that the entire trial proceedings were not translated from German to English, a language her father does not understand.
Philip Grant, the executive director at TRIAL International, which brought the case against Ousman Sonko in Switzerland prior to his arrest, stated that Sonko was the highest-level former official ever to stand trial in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Sonko joined the Gambian military in 1988 and was appointed as the commander of the State Guard in 2003, a position in which he was responsible for Jammeh’s security, according to Swiss prosecutors. He later became the inspector general of the Gambian police in 2005.
In September 2016, Sonko was removed from his position as interior minister a few months before the end of Jammeh’s government and subsequently sought asylum in Europe.
It’s important to note that Ousman Sonko is not to be confused with the prominent Senegalese politician Ousmane Sonko, who spells his first name slightly differently.
Jammeh took control in a 1994 coup. Following his loss in Gambia’s 2016 presidential election, he refused to concede defeat to Adama Barrow and ultimately fled amid threats of a regional military intervention to oust him from power.
Amnesty Switzerland hailed the verdict against Ousman Sonko as a significant step in the fight against impunity and a historic success for universal jurisdiction in Switzerland and Europe.
